[3830] ARRLDX CW K7RL SOAB HP

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                    ARRL DX Contest, CW

Call: K7RL
Operator(s): K7RL
Station: K7RL

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: WA
Operating Time (hrs): 38

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:   56    38
   80:  170    44
   40:  459    69
   20: 1047    87
   15:  364    49
   10:   47    18
-------------------
Total: 2143   305  Total Score = 1,960,845

Club: Western Washington DX Club

Comments:

Congratulations to all the big numbers around the country, especially K7GK at
K7ZSD with what looks like the top west coast score.  Great job Denis!

After reading many of the comments, I sure felt like this was a different
contest from my QTH.  Both Q and mult count are lower than they should be -
although operating SO1R doesn’t help when so many bands are open all at once.


160m was very good both nights, and it was exciting to work so many loud EUs. 
I wasn’t sure what to expect with solar activity on the rise, but was
pleasantly surprised.   

I really struggled on 80m to work EU.  It took multiple calls and many repeats
to complete the QSO.  My mult total on 160m almost equaled 80m!    

40m was the biggest disappoint.  As the MUF plummeted, the band died both
nights to EU and JA between 07:00z and 08:00z.  From 08:00z to 14:30z, I could
not run if my life depended on it - fortunately, it didn't!  I heard guys in K6
running stuff I could barely hear.  As the MUF rose near sunrise, the band came
alive, but by then it was too late.  I had better JA runs on 80m!

20m proved to be my money band, but heavy flutter coupled with some occasional
echoing on EU signals slowed me down.  The pile-ups just made the problem worse
as when I finally got the correct call, many were still calling over the QSO.  I
could always tell when a spot hit and my frequency suddenly exploded with
callers!  

My biggest mistake was not spending enough time on 15m – a bad habit
picked-up from the long solar minimum.  I neglected to try running in the
morning, and instead, opted to concentrate on 20m.  As a result, my mult and Q
count are seriously deficient.

Okay, lessons learned!  But hey, nice to hear life on 10m!

Thank you to all for the Qs.  It is a pleasure to work so many great operators
around the world and I appreciate each and every Q!

73 de Mitch, K7RL


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